The “Full 80” prep boys soccer blog — Week 10

It’s never hard to read the Jefferson High School boys soccer coach and his emotions.

The Raiders scored the school’s eighth state title – a big-school record in the state of Washington – with Saturday’s convincing 3-0 win over Union of Vancouver at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium.

Hanson could hardly contain himself.

The Raiders’ seventh-year head coach raced over the Jefferson student section and let out of a blood-curdling scream for the ages.

The final nail had been hammered on a life-long project for Hanson, who works in sheet-metal by day and soccer by day and night.

“I came so close eight years ago with Mount Rainier,” said Hanson, whose team went 18-0-4 and duplicated the 1983 team’s unbeaten run to a state championship. “In 2004, I was in the finals with them and in the semifinals in 2005. Last year’s group set the foundation for this. We knew if we were patient. Seemed like we were getting hit [against Union in the finals], so if we moved it around and knocked it, we knew we’d would be tough to stop.

“We have a lot of weapons.”

The Raiders were unstoppable, outscoring foes 12-2 in four state victories with three shutouts.

“We have a lot of weapons coming back,” Hanson said. “We’ll see what we can do.”

“Teams put a pretty hard focus on some of those guys, but we have others,” Hanson said.

For the Final Four last weekend, Hanson sported a long gash across the bridge and nose and onto his left cheek when a load of sheet metal slipped from the back of his truck and onto his face. The scar, which required 19 stitches, might has well have been a show of Hanson’s labor of love.

It’s obvious Hanson pours everything he has into the job at hand. His biggest project has been keeping his Raiders’ players attentive in the classroom and angling the Jefferson squad for a state title, an elusive goal in his 13 years of coaching at the high-school level at Mount Rainier and Jefferson.

It all started when Darren Sawatzky, a TJ alum and former pro player, stepped down after the 2006 season. Hanson, then an assistant in 2006 for the Raiders, stepped in as the head man in 2007.

The Christmas tune of “Jingle Bells” rings well in the ears of the Raiders’ faithful, especially in the spring time.

“Every time we win away from our field, we sing Jingle Bells when we win,” Hanson said. “It’s a tradition for 30 years from their first [state] championship. This is satisfying.”

Jefferson, behind a bevy of talented and creative play, easily finished off their 4A title run with a 3-0 cruise-control triumph over Union. The title came on the 30-year anniversary of Jefferson’s first state crown in 1983 and it was their first since 2005 when Lamar Neagle, now a Seattle Sounder, cruised up and downs the wings for the Raiders.

Neagle has been tweeting his support of his alma mater through the 2013 title run.

The Raiders’ trophy case keeps swelling for the diverse school on the hillside above Auburn and in the shadow of Federal Way.

TJ has won state titles 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 2005 and now 2013.

There was toil and sweat for Hanson and his program since the 2005 success. It’s been anything but easy.

With Hanson joining Sawatzky’s staff, Jefferson missed out on state in 2006. He took over the Raiders in 2007 and was able to coach his sons, Tyler, and Chase.

Then, in Hanson’s first year as head coach in 2007, the Raiders slipped up to Gig Harbor 3-2 in overtime shootout in a state-qualifying district match after taking second in the South Puget Sound League (SPSL) North Division.

Hanson’s 2008 team reached state but fell in overtime shootout to Shorewood 2-1 and it started a run of four first-round state losses in five years.

But Hanson and his squads went to work and brought home the big trophy in 2013 to solidify the school’s title as top soccer high-school in the state.

“We are [a soccer school], it’s safe to say,” Hanson said when asked if TJ is a soccer school.

After a few years of doubt, the Raiders emphatically answered that question on Saturday evening.

2010 – 13-5-1, lost in first round of 4A state to Marysville-Pilchuck 4-3 in OT shootout

2011 – 14-3-2, lost in first round of 4A state to Mariner 2-0 in regulation

2012 – 14-3-2, lost in first round of 4A state to Lake Stevens 2-1 in OT shootout

2013 – 18-0-4, won 4A state championship with 3-0 win over Union of Vancouver

Lone local unbeaten in the end

Jefferson (18-0-4, SPSL 4A) won the Class 4A state title and was the lone local unbeaten team standing at the end of the 2013 season. The Raiders posted a pair of dominating 3-0 victories in the 4A Final Four over the weekend, beating Snohomish in the semifinals and handling Union of Vancouver in the final on Saturday at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium.

Jefferson (4A) and Bonney Lake (3A) are the local teams who top their respective classes in the final Washington state computer rankings for 2013. ScoreCzar and goalWA.net have entered into a partnership for these rankings.

The fourth spring boys soccer rankings from National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) came out on Tuesday, May 14 and was the last prior to last weekend’s state finals. Three teams from Washington state appear in the top 20 and another is in the “also receiving votes” section. Snohomish (19-1-0) in Class 4A leads Washington schools at No. 5, Jefferson (4A) checks in at No. 12, Federal Way (4A) at No. 16 and Stadium of Tacoma (4A) in the “also receiving votes” section. The final poll of the spring is set to be released on June 18. The current rankings link is below: